Nestlé has been the subject of boycott calls around the world since the 1970s for its irresponsible marketing of baby milk formula. It is accused of "contributing to the unnecessary death and suffering of infants" through its aggressive marketing practices, which promote baby milk formula as a superior option to breastfeeding despite evidence to the contrary.
The use of formula has been linked to many issues: from increased prevalence of water-borne diseases, where parents do not have access to clean drinking water, to poverty and malnutrition, due to its high cost. As a result, the World Health Assembly has written a strict International Code of Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes. Campaign group Baby Milk Action continues to call for a boycott of the company.
Nestlé also faces a boycott call from indigenous rights organisation the Lakota People's Law Project over its extraction of scarce water sources. The organisations say that Nestlé continues "to pump millions of litres of water from watersheds" despite serious droughts in recent years, and "to act beyond the boundaries of ecological protection and basic human dignity."